


Silent Night

by cottoncandae



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, i'd say more but spoilers, it's honestly disgusting, suchen are so cheesy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-09-29 00:33:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17193128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cottoncandae/pseuds/cottoncandae
Summary: As long as they're together, they can get through anything.





	Silent Night

**Author's Note:**

> this was supposed to be for christmas but it's too late for that, so maybe it's for new years?

The moment Jongdae steps outside the door, the cold wind hits him like a slap on the face. He can feel his nose and cheeks turning red and pulls his hat down over his forehead, almost covering his eyes. He’s already shivering.

 

“Junmyeon,” he whines. “Do we both have to go?”

 

Junmyeon doesn’t seem to hear him over the loud wind so he tries again.

 

“Junmyeon!” he yells, making his boyfriend jump. “Can’t I just stay home? It’s so cold.”

 

“No,” Junmyeon smiles, wrapping his arms around Jongdae. “Here, I’ll keep you warm.”

 

“That’s nice and all but are you going to keep hugging me all day?”

 

“If I have to.”

 

Jongdae sighs, “Can’t you just tell Baekhyun I’m sick or something? I should stay home and take care of Milkshake.”

 

“Milkshake will be fine,” Junmyeon says, letting go of him. “Come on we’re going to be late.” He throws something at Jongdae, who instinctively catches it and groans.

 

“Why do I have to drive?” he looks at the car keys in disgust.

 

“Would you rather drive back? In the dark?” Junmyeon says. Jongdae sighs. No, he would not.

 

❄️❄️❄️

 

Junmyeon likes playing music in the car when he’s driving but Jongdae would much rather sit in silence with zero distractions when he’s the one behind the wheel. If he started playing music, he’d probably get too into the song and drive off the road, into the snowy abyss below.

 

“You’re driving so slow, Jongdae,” Junmyeon says, giving Jongdae’s thigh a little pinch.

 

“Don’t touch me!” Jongdae shrieks. “Do you want us to crash?”

 

Junmyeon laughs, “We’re not going to crash. You’re way below the speed limit; we’ll get there tomorrow at this rate.”

 

“Well, then, can’t you drive?” Jongdae says. “I hate this road so much! It’s so slippery and one wrong move will send us either into the mountain or flying off of it.”

 

“You can do it,” Junmyeon plays with a lock of Jongdae’s hair. “I promise I’ll drive back. You need practice. What if you need to go to the city when I’m not around?”

 

“Why wouldn’t you be around?” Jongdae whines. “Are you planning on leaving me? Have you found another boyfriend, Kim Junmyeon?”

 

“Yes, I’m actually planning on sneaking out during dinner to meet him tonight,” Junmyeon says.

 

“You’re going to leave me alone with Baekhyun and Yixing?” Jongdae gasps. “That’s even crueler than cheating on me.”

 

Junmyeon giggles and Jongdae feels himself calming down. He does hate driving down this long winding road, but with Junmyeon by his side, it’s at least bearable.

 

❄️❄️❄️

 

Junmyeon and Jongdae are giving their coats to the doorman when they hear a familiar loud voice from inside the restaurant. “Is that them? Yixing, it’s them! They’re finally here!”

 

“Hey, Baek,” Jongdae says, smiling at his friend, who’s attracting looks from everyone else in the restaurant. “Hey, Yixing.”

 

“Took you guys long enough,” Baekhyun glares at them. “I was ready to start ordering but Xing kept telling me to wait.”

 

“Sorry, Jongdae was driving,” Junmyeon says, hugging Baekhyun and Yixing. 

 

Baekhyun snorts, “Well, that makes sense. I’m surprised you made it here at all.”

 

“Shut up,” Jongdae slaps away Baekhyun’s hand, which had been trying to pinch his cheek, and sits down next to Junmyeon.

 

“So,” Yixing says, handing them a menu. “How are you guys?”

 

Jongdae is too immersed in the menu, so Junmyeon answers for them. “We’ve been good. Got snowed in last week so Jongdae couldn’t go to work. He wouldn’t let me do my work either so we just watched Christmas movies for three days straight.”

 

“Has it been snowing a lot over there?” Yixing aks. “We’ve only gotten a few inches.”

 

“It’s always snowing a lot over there,” Jongdae says, looking up. “You want to share a seafood platter?” he asks Junmyeon, who frowns.

 

“I was kind of in the mood for that hot soup they have.”

 

“Soup?” Baekhyun and Jongdae stare at him. “You want soup?”

 

“Fine,” Junmyeon sighs. “We can get the platter.”

 

“Let’s just get both,” Jongdae says. “But you’re not eating all the shrimp like last time.”

 

When the four of them finally order their food, Junmyeon asks, “So, how have you guys been?”

 

“Well,” Baekhyun says, smiling at Yixing. “Pretty good because,” he lifts up a hand and yells, “we got engaged!”

 

Junmyeon gasps, “When? How? Who did it?”

 

“How did I not see that?” Jongdae gapes at the giant ring on Baekhyun’s finger.

 

“Yixing did a few days ago,” Baekhyun sighs. “It was so romantic.”

 

“Damn, Yixing,” Jongdae says, taking a sip of water. “Are you sure you want to spend the rest of your life with this idiot?”

 

“Excuse you!”

 

Yixing laughs. “Yeah, I want to spend all of my life and more with this idiot.”

 

Jongdae pretends to gag while Junmyeon and Baekhyun coo.

 

❄️❄️❄️

 

“Why don’t we meet up more often?” Jongdae says, hanging onto Junmyeon’s arm.

 

“Probably because you live three hours away in the middle of nowhere,” Baekhyun rolls his eyes. The four of them are standing in the parking lot, delaying their goodbyes. It had been a long time since they’d last hung out together and Jongdae had forgotten how much he missed his best friends.

 

“Fair point,” Jongdae mumbles. “But we should meet again soon!”

 

“Yes!” Yixing says. “Maybe after New Years? We’re spending the holidays in Changsha this year.”

 

“Sounds good,” Junmyeon stifles a yawn. “I just hope the next time we see each other isn’t at your wedding.”

 

“I would never let that happen!” Baekhyun says. “I’ll call you guys as soon as we get back!”

 

Junmyeon yawns again.

 

“Alright, I think we should go now. Someone is getting tired,” Jongdae gives Junmyeon’s arm a little squeeze. “Bye, guys!”

 

“Bye!” Baekhyun and Yixing say, getting into their car. “Don’t forget to send me the pictures!” Baekhyun tells Jongdae.

 

“I’d send them now if you hadn’t killed my phone,” Jongdae says.

 

“It’s your fault for not carrying your charger on you,” Baekhyun says, waving. “I’ll get you guys a cool Christmas present from China!”

 

As they watch their friends drive away, Jongdae turns to Junmyeon. “Are you sure you can drive?” he asks.

 

“Why? Are you offering to?” Junmyeon smiles.

 

“Well,” Jongdae says, “if you’re going to fall asleep at the wheel, I have no other option, do I?”

 

“Don’t worry,” Junmyeon kisses Jongdae’s hair. “I’m not that tired. Plus you’ve had three glasses of wine, I think you’d be more trouble behind the wheel than me.”

 

“You’re right, you drive,” Jongdae says, running over to the passenger's side and making himself comfortable. “I’ll play some upbeat tunes so you don’t get sleepy,” he says as Junmyeon starts the car.

 

Jongdae loves it when Junmyeon drives, not just because he hates driving himself, but because he knows Junmyeon loves the drive home. Jongdae loves it too, when he doesn’t have to worry about skidding on ice or crashing into boulders that somehow make it onto the road. It’s very scenic and serene. They hardly ever meet any other cars the whole way, so Jongdae always blasts his music as loud as he can without disturbing Junmyeon too much.

 

“Junmyeon!” Jongdae cries, stiffening when the car suddenly lurches.

 

“Whoops,” Junmyeon says. “Sorry, it’s more slippery than I thought it would be.”

 

“Careful,” Jongdae says, clutching his heart. “I don’t want to die out here in the middle of nowhere.”

 

“Stop worrying,” Junmyeon puts a hand on Jongdae’s knee. “We won’t crash and you won’t die.”

 

“Both hands on the wheel, mister,” Jongdae swats Junmyeon’s hand off his knee. “Be careful!”

 

“I can’t believe you’ve turned into such a worrywart,” Junmyeon laughs. “Old age really does change people.”

 

“Who are you calling old, grandpa!” Jongdae cries. “You’re older than me!”

 

“One year.”

 

“Still older!”

 

“All I’m saying is,” Junmyeon says, “you weren’t this fretful when we met.”

 

“I’m not always fretful!” Jongdae defends himself. “I just don’t want to die tonight.”

 

“You won’t die,” Junmyeon says again. “Baekhyun and Yixing would kill us if we died before their wedding.”

 

“I still can’t believe they’re getting married,” Jongdae says. “But, I guess they have been dating for a pretty long time now.”

 

“Not as long as us,” Junmyeon winks at Jongdae who yells at him to keep his eyes on the road.

 

“No one in the world has been dating for as long as we have,” Jongdae says. “When are  _ we _ getting married?”

 

“Whenever you want,” Junmyeon shrugs.

 

“Is this your way of proposing to me, Kim Junmyeon?” Jongdae asks. “Because if it is, I’m going to say no. I need an elaborate proposal with lights and fireworks and doves. The whole lot.”

 

Junmyeon laughs, “Okay, I’ll keep that in mind. Keep your schedule open next week.”

 

“Next week? You can’t propose to me on Christmas week!”

 

“Okay, fine, January.”

 

“Don’t make it too late, though,” Jongdae warns. “As soon as February starts getting close and Valentine’s Day season approaches, proposals skyrocket. We’re not going to be one of those Valentine’s engagement couples”

 

“How does the second week of January sound?” Junmyeon asks. “Maybe the 14th? It’s a Saturday.”

 

Jongdae thinks about it for a second. “That sounds fine,” he finally says. He’s smiling at the way Junmyeon is laughing when suddenly, the car lurches again.

 

Only this time it doesn’t stop. Jongdae grabs onto the side of his seat, screaming as the car slides into the mountain. He shuts his eyes as hard as he can and tries not to throw up as he feels himself get thrown around inside the car launching through the air. His nose hits something hard and he can taste blood in his mouth. There’s a crash louder than any sound he’s heard before and he feels himself fall, his seatbelt cutting into his neck. He lands right on his elbow, the impact sending an excruciating jolt of pain up his arm. Then the car jumps again, and his body slams into the door. He can feel bits of glass cutting into his cheek. The car lands on the ground one more time, with a crash just as deafening as the last.

 

And then there’s silence. Jongdae’s ears are ringing. It takes him a second to realize he’s alive, another to realize he’s hanging upside down with his seatbelt still cutting into his neck. He barely has time to feel relieved he’s alive before he realizes Junmyeon isn’t hanging next to him.

 

“Junmyeon?” he croaks, looking around frantically. He tries to undo his seatbelt but it won’t budge. Panicking, he starts tugging on it, his left arm screaming in protest. Tears are streaming down his forehead as he continues calling for Junmyeon.

 

It’s only when he hears a soft “Jongdae” that he calms down a bit.

 

“Junmyeon?” he breathes. “Where are you? I can’t see you!”

 

“I’m down here, silly,” he hears Junmyeon say weakly.

 

Following his voice, Jongdae is finally able to make out his boyfriend’s head, slumped against an unrecognizable part of their car in the darkness.

 

“Are you okay?” Junmyeon asks.

 

“Yeah, I think so,” Jongdae says. “I have a few cuts and think I broke my arm, but I’m fine. Are you okay?”

 

“I’m a little stuck,” Junmyeon chuckles, shakily. “But I’m fine too.”

 

“I’m also stuck,” Jongdae says, starting to cry again. “My seatbelt won’t come off!”

 

“Okay, calm down,” Junmyeon says. “Seatbelts usually won’t release if you’re putting a lot of pressure on them.”

 

Jongdae tries to stop crying enough to get out the words, “How do I get out, Junmyeon?”

 

“There’s a pocketknife in the glove compartment; try to cut it off.”

 

Jongdae opens the compartment in front of him and all the contents inside fall out. “There’s no pocketknife,” he cries.

 

“I think it fell,” Junmyeon says. “Can you reach it?”

 

It’s so dark Jongdae has to strain his eyes to see the object. After a bit of a struggle and feeling around for the knife, getting his fingers cut on tiny fragments of glass in the process, he finally manages to find it.

 

Feeling as though he might stop breathing any second, Jongdae desperately starts cutting the seatbelt.

 

“Is it working?” Junmyeon asks.

 

“I think so,” Jongdae pants. After what feels like hours, the seatbelt finally rips apart and Jongdae falls with a thud onto the crumpled roof of the car.

 

He turns around to crawl towards Junmyeon, who he can finally see, now that his eyes have adjusted to the dark.

 

“Junmyeon,” he gasps, letting out a weak sob. Junmyeon is sitting in a strange angle, his head resting on the seat, his legs nowhere in sight, either squished between the mountain and the car or crushed underneath it.

 

“Here,” he grabs Junmyeon’s hand with his intact one and starts pulling, but Junmyeon won’t budge.

 

“Stop, stop, stop!” Junmyeon cries. “I’m stuck, Jongdae. I can’t move.”

 

Jongdae is weeping hysterically now, gasping for breath in between sobs.

 

“Shh,” Junmyeon squeezes his hand. “I’ll be fine, Jongdae. Can you find my phone? It was in my coat.”

 

Jongdae nods, scrambling to the back of the car to retrieve Junmyeon’s phone, which is miraculously unharmed.

 

“Okay, I’m going to call for help!” Jongdae assures, finally feeling hopeful. But then he notices the words on the top of the screen.

 

“Oh, no,” his heart sinks.

 

“No signal?”

 

Jongdae nods, more tears welling up in his eyes.

 

“Jongdae,” Junmyeon says, sounding very stern all of a sudden. “You have to get out.”

 

“What?” Jongdae cries. “No way! I’m not leaving you!”

 

“There’s probably been a fuel leak, which means we’ll be burned alive if there’s even a tiny spark,” Junmyeon tries to reason. “There’s no need for both of us to die. Just get out and walk. If you come across a car, you can come back for me.”

 

“Am I supposed to walk all the way home in this weather?” Jongdae says. “One of us gets burnt to death and the other one freezes? Junmyeon, if you know me at all, you know I’m not going to leave you to die here.”

 

Junmyeon sighs, “At least just check if there’s a leak or not.”

 

Jongdae looks around. “How do I get out?”

 

“Can you fit through that window?” Junmyeon points at the backseat window, which had been completely shattered.

 

Nodding, Jongdae crawls across the car and out the window, trying to put as little pressure as he can on his broken arm. It’s cold outside and everything smells like burning metal and rubber. Turning on Junmyeon’s phone’s flashlight, Jongdae quickly walks around the crumpled heap of metal that used to be his car and looks for any sign of leaking liquid.

 

He checks around the tank and sees nothing. Sighing in relief, he goes over to Junmyeon’s side of the car to see if there’s any way he can get him out but there’s no way to even get close to him. Jongdae doesn’t even realize he’s shivering until a gust of wind nips at his tear streaked cheeks.

 

Not expecting to see anything, Jongdae looks around for any sign of life. Any car, any human, even any wild animal he could tie a paper with a message on. But the area is as silent and still as always.

 

Jongdae crawls back in through the window and curls himself up next to Junmyeon.

 

“No leak?” Junmyeon asks.

 

“No leak,” Jongdae sniffs.

 

“You don’t look very comfortable,” Junmyeon laughs.

 

Jongdae glares at him. “Why are you so jolly? What is wrong with you?”

 

“I’m not jolly,” Junmyeon says. “I just don’t see what help crying will do.”

 

Jongdae sighs and threads his fingers into Junmyeon’s. “Your ability to stay calm in any situation amazes me.”

 

“You amaze me,” Junmyeon says, giving Jongdae’s cheek a light peck. Jongdae feels his eyes start to water again. He doesn’t remember the last time he’d cried this much in such a short span of time.

 

“How are your legs?” he asks, softly.

 

“I can’t really feel them,” Junmyeon sighs. “But I guess that’s good, at least they don’t hurt.”

 

Jongdae squeezes his hand as tightly as he can.

 

They sit in silence for a while, Jongdae listening to Junmyeon’s soft breathing, making sure it doesn’t falter or stop. He can’t even imagine what he’d do if it did. He contemplates going outside to stop any cars that might pass by but he doesn’t want to leave Junmyeon. And the probability of any cars driving by at this time is close to none. But even if one happened to, surely, they would stop to investigate the wrecked car lying upside down on the side of the road.

 

“Remember the night we met?” Junmyeon suddenly says.

 

“No,” Jongdae says. “We are not doing this.”

 

Junmyeon frowns, “You don’t remember?”

 

“I do, but we are not doing this!”

 

“Doing what?”

 

“Stop talking like you’re going to die, Junmyeon,” Jongdae snaps.

 

“I’m not!” Junmyeon says. “We were talking about this before, weren’t we?”

 

Jongdae sighs. “Of course I remember the night we met.”

 

“It’s been almost ten years,” Junmyeon smiles.

 

“And it only happened thanks to Baekhyun,” Jongdae can’t help but smile as well. “He’s the one who dared me to ask you out.”

 

“I still can’t believe you had to be dared to ask me out. You wouldn’t have just done it on your own.”

 

“Well, I never really paid attention to mall Santa Clauses, okay?” Jongdae defends himself. “Besides, I never would’ve accepted the dare if I didn’t think you were hot.”

 

“I didn’t know what I was getting myself into when I said yes,” Junmyeon says, still smiling. “I just wanted this strange grown man off my lap so I said okay to whatever he said he wanted for Christmas.”

 

“Oh, please,” Jongdae scoffs. “You love having this strange grown man on your lap.”

 

“I do now,” Junmyeon laughs. “Not so much before I even knew who you were.”

 

“You still went out with me,” Jongdae smirks. “Couldn’t resist my charms, could you?”

 

“Well, you were pretty cute,” Junmyeon says.

 

“Baek gave me 50 bucks for doing that, you know?” Jongdae says. “That’s the money I used to take you on our second date.”

 

“Wait, really?” Junmyeon asks. “So, not only was it a dare, there was also monetary incentive involved? And here I was thinking you actually liked me.”

 

“Hey, I did like you! Why else would I spend all of my money on you?”

 

Junmyeon laughs again and then winces.

 

“Are you okay?” Jongdae’s heart starts rapidly beating against his chest. “What’s wrong?”

 

“Calm down,” Junmyeon says. “It just hurts a little when I laugh, it’s completely fine.”

 

It doesn’t sound ‘completely fine’ to Jongdae. He checks Junmyeon’s phone again. It’s still out of service.

 

“Anyway,” Junmyeon says, “I’m very thankful to Baekhyun for bringing us together.”

 

“He should be thankful to us too. If it weren’t for you, he never would have met Yixing.”

 

“Yeah,” Junmyeon nods. “Or, actually, he should be thankful to my dad for hiring Yixing. We would have never been such good friends with him if it weren’t for my parents,” he says, fondly. “I’m pretty sure they’d rather have him as a son than me.”

 

“Don’t be too sad,” Jongdae says. “I know for a fact my mom wishes kind, respectful Junmyeon was her son instead of me.”

 

“I can’t be her son, but one day I’ll be her son-in-law,” Junmyeon says.

 

Jongdae laughs. “You better. Unless you’re thinking of marrying Jongdoek. Is he the secret boyfriend you were going to sneak out and meet tonight?”

 

“Oh, no!” Junmyeon gasps. “I can’t believe you got me! I’m cheating on you with your brother.”

 

“Gross,” Jongdae scrunches his nose. “This is getting too weird to joke about now.”

 

“You started it.”

 

“And you made it worse!”

 

Junmyeon just shrugs and Jongdae glares at him. “I’d walk away but it’s cold outside and you’re very warm.”

 

Junmyeon tugs Jongdae closer to him and plants a big, wet kiss on his cheek. “You’re so cute.”

 

Jongdae frowns and grumbles about already knowing that but scoots even closer to Junmyeon.

 

❄️❄️❄️

 

Jongdae is playing with Junmyeon’s fingers, humming random Christmas carols when he suddenly remembers.

 

“Milkshake!” he yells, startling Junmyeon. “He’s all alone at home! He must be so hungry and scared, Junmyeon, what do we do!”

 

“Calm down,” Junmyeon says. “He’ll be fine; he’s spent the night without us before.”

 

“But we usually make sure he has everything he needs if we leave for the night! We didn’t do anything today!”

 

“He’s a smart cat,” Junmyeon says. “He’ll probably sleep on our bed and sneak into the pantry and eat until he can’t move.”

 

“I miss him,” Jongdae pouts. “He’s our son.”

 

“I know,” Junmyeon hugs him as best as he can in their position. “You’re a worrywart mother.”

 

“Again with the worrywart,” Jongdae says. “Why aren’t you a more worrywart father, huh? Do you not care about our child?”

 

“Of course I do!” Junmyeon cries. “I take care of him more than you do!”

 

“All you do is give him food and clean his litter box,” Jongdae says. “I, on the other hand, shower him with love and affection.”

 

“I shower him with love and affection too!”

 

“Not as much as I do.”

 

“Lies,” Junmyeon says, letting go of Jongdae and crossing his arms. “Who wanted to adopt him in the first place?”

 

“What does that have to do with anything?” Jongdae tries to pry Junmyeon’s arms open. “Let me in, I’m cold!” he whines.

 

Junmyeon sighs but opens his arms and hugs Jongdae again. “Remember how small he was when we got him?”

 

Jongdae nods. “I thought he looked like you when you were a baby.”

 

“I wish I was that cute,” Junmyeon laughs.

 

“I wonder how his brothers and sisters are doing?” Jongdae says. “I wish we could have taken all of them home.”

 

“I don’t think we’d be able to handle four cats,” Junmyeon says.

 

“Can we get a dog?”

 

Junmyeon coughs. “Sorry, a what?”

 

“A dog,” Jongdae whines. “A cute little friend for Milkshake! Come on, Junmyeon!”

 

“Who’s going to take care of it?”

 

“Both of us, obviously.”

 

“I’m the one who’s always home,” Junmyeon says. “I’ll be the one doing all the dirty work and you’ll just come home and play with it.”

 

“Hey,  playing with dogs requires a lot of effort, you know,” Jongdae says. “You have to run around and throw balls. It’s a lot of exercise.”

 

“We could get a small one that doesn’t need to run around as much,” Junmyeon says. “A house dog for our house cat.”

 

“Perfect!” Jongdae says.

 

Junmyeon sighs, “I’ll think about it!”

 

“Yay!” Jongdae knows that means he’s won.

 

❄️❄️❄️

 

“Maybe I should try to lift the car off you,” Jongdae says, sitting up. “It’ll be better than sitting here, doing nothing.”

 

Junmyeon snorts. “Yeah, I’m sure you can lift an entire car off of me.”

 

“Hey!” Jongdae says, “Mothers lift entire cars off their babies.”

 

“I think this situation is a bit different,” Junmyeon says, grabbing Jongdae’s chin.

 

“Are you calling me weak?” Jongdae narrows his eyes at his boyfriend.

 

“I’m not calling you strong.”

 

Jongdae gasps. “I’m stronger than you!”

 

“No you’re not!” Junmyeon laughs. “Remember when I fell asleep on the couch and you tried to carry me to bed?”

 

Jongdae feels his ears redden. “Actually, I was trying to put you on the coffee table. I needed the couch for myself.”

 

“Were you also trying to break the table on purpose?”

 

“It was about time we got a new one,” Jongdae shrugs.

 

Junmyeon yawns, “So you were doing us a favor?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Just admit you’re not stronger than me, Jongdae.”

 

“Where’s the proof that you’re stronger than me, huh?” Jongdae says.

 

“The amount of times I’ve carried you to bed without dropping you?” Junmyeon says.

 

Jongdae sighs. “Fine, I concede. You are stronger and taller and more handsome than I will ever be.”

 

“You’re right about everything except the last part,” Junmyeon smiles, pushing a bit of hair out of Jongdae’s eye.

 

❄️❄️❄️

 

Jongdae looks through the pictures Junmyeon has on his phone. There aren’t many because Jongdae is usually the one taking photos of everything, but there are a few gems. He plays a video from almost a year ago of their karaoke night. Junmyeon is drunk but still coherent while Jongdae is just babbling nonsense.

 

He laughs and looks over at Junmyeon, whose eyes are closed. Dread settles in Jongdae’s stomach and he can’t breathe.

 

“Junmyeon,” he gasps. “Junmyeon, are you okay?” he gives Junmyeon’s head a little shake and, to his immense relief, Junmyeon’s eyes flicker open.

 

“What were you doing!” he wails, burying his face into Junmyeon’s neck. “I thought--I almost--I was so scared!”

 

“Calm down,” Junmyeon mumbles, stroking Jongdae’s hair. “I just fell asleep.”

 

“I hate to say this,” Jongdae sniffs, “but please don’t do that again. At least not until we get you out of here, okay? Please?”

 

“Alright,” Junmyeon says, “I’ll try.”

 

Jongdae doesn’t move from Junmyeon’s neck, inhaling the very faint scent of his fading cologne. “Junmyeon,” he says after a while.

 

Junmyeon hums.

 

“Do you really want to marry me or were you just joking around before?”

 

Junmyeon momentarily stops stroking Jongdae’s hair before resuming. “When you get back home,” he says, “look in that box of old board games in the guest room.”

 

“What are you talking about?” Jongdae asks.

 

Junmyeon sighs and Jongdae feels him shaking his head. “Of course I want to marry you! I’ve been wanting to marry you for years!”

 

“Then why did you never propose!”

 

“I just thought we didn’t need to get married,” Junmyeon says. “We’ve been together for so long, we’re practically already a married couple. What difference would it make?”

 

“For starters,” Jongdae finally unglues himself from Junmyeon’s neck to look at the man, “my mom would stop nagging me about getting married.”

 

“That’s true,” Junmyeon chuckles. “But is getting married really that important?”

 

“I thought you said you wanted to get married?” Jongdae cries. “Now you’re saying it’s not important? I can’t keep up!”

 

“I’m just saying,” Junmyeon smiles, “I do want to get married but I don’t think we absolutely  _ have  _ to.”

 

“Yes we do!” Jongdae says. “I want us to be Mr. and Mr. Kim! And I want to have a wedding so beautiful every single guest leaves in tears. It has to be better than Baekhyun and Yixing’s.”

 

“We’re already Mr. and Mr. Kim,” Junmyeon says. “And do you really have to make everything a competition with Baekhyun.”

 

“Yes,” Jongdae says. “Which Kim will we be? My Kim or yours?”

 

Junmyeon blinks. “Does it make a difference?”

 

“Yes!”

 

“We can be yours?”

 

“No, it’s okay. I have a brother who can carry on the family name. You’re all your family has; we can be yours,” Jongdae says.

 

“Thanks,” Junmyeon laughs. “How considerate of you.”

 

❄️❄️❄️

 

Jongdae notices Junmyeon’s eyes drooping and blows on them.

 

“What was that for?” Junmyeon whines.

 

“No sleep,” Jongdae whines back.

 

“I wasn’t sleeping,” Junmyeon says.

 

“Just making sure.”

 

Jongdae checks Junmyeon’s phone. It’s almost 5 in the morning. Someone is bound to come soon.

 

“Hey,” Junmyeon whispers in Jongdae’s ear.

 

“Hmm?” Jongdae puts down the phone and rests his head next to Junmyeon’s, their noses almost touching.

 

“I love you.”

 

“Don’t do that,” Jongdae says.

 

“Don’t tell you I love you?” Junmyeon frowns.

 

Jongdae clears his throat. He is not going to start crying again. “Don’t tell me you love me like you won’t get to say it again.”

 

Junmyeon sighs. “I wasn’t doing that. I just wanted to say it.”

 

Jongdae closes his eyes. He won’t cry.

 

“You’re not going to say it back?” Junmyeon pouts.

 

“I’ll say it when you get out from under this car,” Jongdae says, he voice cracking. He feels Junmyeon shift a little and then cold lips are pressing against his own. He can’t hold back anymore. Jongdae sobs into Junmyeon’s mouth as Junmyeon wraps his arms around him. Jongdae leans on his good arm, resting the broken one on Junmyeon’s chest.

 

They kiss until Jongdae can’t breath, detaching himself from Junmyeon’s lips and crying into his neck. Junmyeon rubs his back, telling him everything will be okay and Jongdae tries to believe every word he says.

 

“We’ll get out of here together. Someone will find us, I swear. We can go home and play with Milkshake and get him a friend and get married. Don’t cry, Jongdae. We’ll be fine.”

 

❄️❄️❄️

 

Jongdae doesn’t realize he’s fallen asleep on top of Junmyeon until a bright light and loud honk wake him up. He jumps up, hitting his head on something hard.

 

“Junmyeon,” he whispers. “I think someone’s here!”

 

Scrambling out the back window, Jongdae sees two figures exiting a car and rushing towards him.

 

“Holy shit, are you okay? Is anyone else in there?” a man asks.

 

“Yes, my boyfriend!” Jongdae cries. “He’s really hurt, please call someone!”

 

The man runs back to his car to find his phone while his friend starts asking Jongdae questions. Jongdae is not in the mood to relive anything that’s happened in the past few hours but he tells the man everything.

 

“There was a crash a a couple kilometers down too,” the man tells him. “So there are a ton of emergency vehicles nearby. Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll be here soon!”

 

“There’s no signal!” the man from before runs back to them. “I’m going to drive down to the other crash site and ask for help there. You wanna come with, Chanyeol? Or will you stay here?”

 

“Uh,” Chanyeol looks from Jongdae to his friend.

 

“You should go too,” Jongdae says. He doubts the guy wants to hang around outside at night, in the cold, with two badly injured strangers.

 

“We’ll be back!” they say before hurrying off.

 

Jongdae crawls back to Junmyeon, smiling slightly. He feels as though he can finally breathe. Junmyeon is going to get out. They are going to be saved.

 

“Jun,” he says, poking Junmyeon’s cheek.

 

Junmyeon groans, opening his eyes just the slightest.

 

“We’re getting out,” Jongdae kisses Junmyeon’s cheek. “People are coming for us!” he can’t stop himself from giggling.

 

Junmyeon just hums and closes his eyes again.

 

“Come on, Junmyeon,” Jongdae says, nudging him a bit. “I know you’re sleepy but we’ll get out so soon! Just hang on a few more minutes, please!”

 

Junmyeon nods weakly. “Okay,” he whispers.

 

Jongdae hold his drooping head in his hands. “Junmyeon?” he asks, a wave of fear washing over him. “Are you--”

 

Before he can finish, Junmyeon throws up all over him.

 

“Oh, dear,” he gasps. “That’s alright, let it all out.”

 

Junmyeon retches a few more times before dropping his head on Jongdae’s chest.

 

“You’re okay, Junmyeon,” Jongdae says, holding him tight. “Help is on its way! Just hang on a little longer!”

 

He can feel Junmyeon is still breathing and pats his back, endlessly whispering, “You’re okay, you’re okay.” Jongdae lets go of him for a second, leaning back to look at him.

 

He looks awful. Pale and sickly, with blood all over his head, and spit and vomit dribbling down his chin. Jongdae’s vision goes blurry as a fresh new onslaught of tears pour out of his eyes. He puts his forehead against Junmyeon’s and closes his eyes.

 

“Junmyeon, please,” he whispers. “Please, I love you so much. You can’t leave me. Please!”

 

He doesn’t know how long he stays like that. He doesn’t move when he hears the sirens, or when the two familiar voices from before call out for him. He doesn’t let go of Junmyeon until someone drags him away. He doesn’t stop crying. Not in the ambulance, not in the hospital, not when Yixing and Baekhyun come running into the room.

 

Jongdae doesn’t stop saying “please” until they put him under, and when he wakes up again, he can’t say a word.

 

❄️❄️❄️

 

Milkshake is very happy to see Jongdae. As soon as he walks into the house, the cat greets him with a loud meow, as if to say ‘Welcome Home!’. Jongdae bends down and picks him up, holding him close and tight.

 

“I missed you, buddy,” he mumbles into Milkshake’s soft fur.

 

“I’m going to get your clothes, okay?” Baekhyun says, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Yixing, you want to help Jongdae get Milkshake’s stuff?”

 

Yixing nods, following Jongdae to the kitchen as Baekhyun disappears into his room.

 

“His food’s down there,” Jongdae says. “I think there are some cans in the fridge. I’ll get his toys and clothes, most of them are in the other room.”

 

It takes them ten minutes to gather all of Milkshake’s and Jongdae things. As Baekhyun and Yixing load them into their car, Jongdae walks around the house with his cat. He’s surprised he hasn’t broken down yet.

 

“You ready?” Baekhyun asks when everything is tucked away in the trunk of their car.

 

“I want to get a few more things,” Jongdae says. “You can wait in the car, it’ll just be a minute.”

 

Baekhyun looks hesitant to leave him but does so without protest. Jongdae sighs, walking into his room and plops Milkshake down on the bed. He grabs Junmyeon’s white shirt with the tiny stars that he wore on their last date. There’s a pile of photos in their bedside drawer they’d been meaning to get framed. He takes that as well.

 

He goes to the bathroom and grabs Junmyeon’s half empty bottle of cologne. There’s only one thing left now.

 

Jongdae goes to the only other bedroom in the house, Milkshake following him closely behind. In the closet, sits a dusty box filled with puzzles they’d never completed and board games they hadn’t touched in years.

 

Jongdae takes out Monopoly, Candy Land and Clue, his eyes starting to water at the memory of playing all of those games with Junmyeon. He keeps digging until finally, sitting under Scrabble, is a small blue box.

 

He takes it out, his hands shaking, his throat feeling as though someone has just wrapped their hands around it and is squeezing as hard as they can.

 

Milkshake gives the box a little sniff. Holding his breath, Jongdae opens it. Sitting inside, shining in the sunlight drifting in through the window, is a silver ring. Milkshake watches him take it out, smiling and sobbing at the same time. There’s a tiny Christmas tree engraved on the inside of the band.

 

He puts it on and looks at his hand.

 

“Let’s go, Milkshake,” Kim Jongdae says, grabbing his cat and all the things he’d collected. “We’ll come back home soon.”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> sorry milkshake


End file.
